Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-05-20
FROM VERMONT TO CAIRO.
No. VI of MIR Hopkins's Letters.-The
Egyptian Donkey.

Egyptian Donkey.
| Special Correspondence to the Free Press.
CAIRO, Egypt, April 4, 1887.
Mr.. Editor; The donkey of Egypt is
absolutely interviewer with human life
here So many thousand years has he
been "the animal of the country" that we
ind him portrayed on the walls of the
rock hewn tombs of III in Sakkarah, a
date long before Abraham, and he stands
sculptured also amongst the cattle, sheep,
geese lotus flowers, sacrifices and gods of
Seti |. Rameses the Great, particularlyIat
Karnak and Luxor, and the tombs of the
kings f4OO b. c., while he has figured
largely in the national economy ever
since.
The donkey is scarcely four feet long
and three feet high. When you first see
him carrying man of full stature, you
can scarcely resist saying "Poor little
prosecuted, abused, patient and prepos-
ferrous donkey. This is an outrage that
man is twice as able to carry you, as you
to carry him. What a ridiculous toy you
are to be sure Surely that monstrous
man is only trying to see whether your
four little pipe-stems of legs can bear
aim at all, or whether your little back
won't crack under such load" But
about five miles an hour Neither the
little legs or back finch, but bravely do
They perform their surprising task, as
slough with ease. Nature has indeed
supplied boon to Egypt in the donkey.
IN no other such dimlnutive hide has she
packed, to my knowledge, such an effec-
tive little parcel of muscle and bone. A
donkey will bear three times more weight
in proportion than a camel. He will
work from sunrise to sunset on cents
IL l.
MIN transport loads 10 miles day, that
were enormous for him. For instance,
three cut stones, bound to his back at
once, each two feet long, one foot wide
and Ii inches thick, or a hemisphere of
green clover, over five feet in diameter,
hiding him under it, or 60 palm leaf
bushel baskets at once (nested in each
other, and strapped to his back, or three
common trunks, or three bags of turnips,
each four feet long, and two feet in diam.
eter The colossal camel, usually loaded
at his side, does not bear three times as
much.
And also, as draught animal the poor
donkey is constantly Overdone One day
computed the load that poor little spec
linen was doubling up his body to draw
He was harnessed (by ropes toa four.
wheeled drag big enough for horse, and
upon that dray there lay three green logs
each 16 feet long and foot thick. One
would almost expect to see a merciless
Arab hitch mouse to ton of hay, next.
While the true-hearted little donkey chung
20 the pavement and slowly drew that
outrageous load, his driver dashed him
cruelty, Till | wished ] could put him in
the donkey's place.
Aside from the hundreds of camels and
thousands of Copts, ARABS, Greeks.
Syrians, Nubians and the rest of man
kindn that 50 choke the narrow streets of
Cairo, the donkeys are in crowds there.
At every little distance isa donkey stand.
There the dopkey-boy awaits the pedes-
trian. AT every step you are assailed by
from one to six at time. IN lister, mister.
Here good donkey, good donkey" echoes
steps, gets in your way and annoys you
almost insuferably. But you may evade
anything worse by looking straight ahead
and taking no notice. IT. however, you
really wish to hire an animal if you reply
or dare to look at any donkey, 20 more
pushing each other.aside, yelling and
struggling to secure your custom Here,
sir, you American, my donkey's name
Yankee Doodle. My donkey, good don
key, no fallee down. HIS donkey bad
donkey, bad legs fallee down; My name
once, and you would say, There's music
in the air." You can only end the hub
Dub by bouncing on the donkey nearest
you. OHCe IDOuUJcu QuleU TelOuS anu
you can start, but it is like running the
gauntlet" to hire donkey.
And now you are surprised. You have
anew property, a short but complete own
ership of both brute and boy. Your
donkey boy instantly becomes. your lave,
SsSph s4g snd ffrpd your dousyp 1
Gender against every Arab. dog, camel,
bull, wagon or procession you may meet.
He runs before you, behind you, and at
either side of you, and guides the don
key in his own mysterious way. for mas
ter don key is utterly needless of how you
may draw the rein. or order advance or
stop. Say to your boys ears (not the
donkey's), faster" and he plunges be
hind you and yells out '.Hah, Haaah !"
and whack falls his terrible stick on the
rear of the poor beast, till you feel his
entire pitifuf little frame culver under
you with the conclusion from stem to
stern" You think he must fall down,
but he doesn't. He gallops and ,outstrps
dozens about him You enjoy it and the
boy enjoys it too. He sdles up to you with
triumphant smile he remarks, Good
donkey, mister. Didn't say he good
donkey? Yankee Doodle good donkey
Abdallah good boy, Ell Blmeby plenty
bakseesh for good boy" This poor Arab
boy, barefooted, having but the one blue
cotton night shirt on, that all the street boys
wear, is eager, GREATNESS and faithful
He will leap aside to field to pick any
dover you admire, he will fight and push
and scream for you in every street jam
you are assaulted by. He will punch and
elbow the way for you and your donkey
through the opposing crowd, and show
such skill that your estimate of the coffee
brown "gamin" rises. You begin to say
that if there is professorship of donkey
driving anywhere to be had, your boy
ought to be nominated to it,
And what sum of money think you is
coveted by him as "big pay" for half a
day of such breathless eXertion and pos
sibly 20 miles of running. Only one
piastre, equal to five cents, in addition to
is cents an hour for the establishment"
Mr.. Editor, did you ever hear donkey
bray? Two notes are his scale, and if
his gamut is not long, it is strong. Truly
not with iexibility of voice, but with